Near field communication, abbreviated NFC, is a form of contactless communication between devices like smartphones or tablets. Contactless communication allows a user to wave the smartphone over a NFC compatible device to send information without needing to touch the devices together or go through multiple steps setting up a connection. Fast and convenient, NFC technology is popular in parts of Europe and Asia, and is quickly spreading throughout the United States.
Physical money will be eliminated in the very near future. President Obama recently said that he supports abolishing the American penny. All physical coins and dollars will soon be rendered, it will be replaced by mobile payments, contactless payments and thumbprints. Each year, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing spends $600 million producing new notes. The cost of mining and minting coins is $2.9 billion An additional $260 million is lost to counterfeiting. Cash no longer needs replacing if it is just ones and zeros in cyberspace. Convenience will expand and crime may shrink. The total value in the US of mobile payments (which includes both Google Wallet and the carriers’ own Softcard, recently rebranded from Isis) in 2013 was expected to be $37 billion, up 50% from $24.7 billion in 2012. Below is a chart of the predicted spending using Mobile In-Store Payments, M-commerce and Desktop for the US in the coming 3 years.
The most important step in the mobile payment transaction is the secure element, which holds all the authorization power. Whether it's a chip in the phone, or functions virtually in the cloud, the secure element is tamper-proof and protected by a unique digital signature. Manufactures secure element chips, the architecture of the secure element is designed to be hardened against attacks on the phone. That includes software attacks but also hardware-based attacks where someone got your phone or SIM card, it would be extremely difficult to obtain info off of that because it's a chip that is designed to have security mechanisms that go well beyond a normal processor.
Physical money will be eliminated in the very near future. President Obama recently said that he supports abolishing the American penny. All physical coins and dollars will soon be rendered, it will be replaced by mobile payments, contactless payments and thumbprints. Each year, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing spends $600 million producing new notes. The cost of mining and minting coins is $2.9 billion An additional $260 million is lost to counterfeiting. Cash no longer needs replacing if it is just ones and zeros in cyberspace. Convenience will expand and crime may shrink. The total value in the US of mobile payments (which includes both Google Wallet and the carriers’ own Softcard, recently rebranded from Isis) in 2013 was expected to be $37 billion, up 50% from $24.7 billion in 2012. Below is a chart of the predicted spending using Mobile In-Store Payments, M-commerce and Desktop for the US in the coming 3 years.
The most important step in the mobile payment transaction is the secure element, which holds all the authorization power. Whether it's a chip in the phone, or functions virtually in the cloud, the secure element is tamper-proof and protected by a unique digital signature. Manufactures secure element chips, the architecture of the secure element is designed to be hardened against attacks on the phone. That includes software attacks but also hardware-based attacks where someone got your phone or SIM card, it would be extremely difficult to obtain info off of that because it's a chip that is designed to have security mechanisms that go well beyond a normal processor.